Junta Kas'kar
By the time Junta Kas'kar was born his father was already dead. 'A clan apart.' Although the full scale purge of the followers of Mandalore the Preserver didn't occur until after the blockade of the Hydian Way and the rise of Mandalore the Vindicated, it was a point of contention among the clans that, in reality, had lasted for over 100 years. Centuries earlier, after the Jedi Civil War, clan Kas'kar was one of the first clans that united under Mandalore the Preserver at his base on Duxn following his successful campaign with the Jedi Exile. With the Sith threat wiped out, they were involved in several minor skirmishes with small bands of mercenaries and soldiers of fortune trying to take advantage of a vulnerable Republic. Eventually, however, the Republic began to rebuild from it's shattered state and the Mandalorians withdrew to consolidate and build their numbers. They eventually left Duxn and reclaimed their rightful home on the planet Mandalore. Mandalore the Preserver knew from his travels with Revan and the Jedi Exile that there was a real threat from the true Sith He knew they would one day return and likely pose a grave threat to the Republic and the Jedi... and the Mandalorian clans. The threat never materialised. When Mandalore the Preserver died, with no leader to unify the clans, they dispersed once again. As his memory began to fade ideas among the clans began to divide also. Some clans believed that Mandalore the Preserver had been mistaken and the Sith were no longer a threat. Others believed that, in the wake of the Mandalorian Wars the Republic and the Jedi did not deserve their support and those who had merely spoken out against Mandalore the Preserver during his life now actively opposed his views and any clans that shared them. These were the seeds of Crusader's Skism that would come to a head many years later. Before the return of the Sith Empire, a young Zodi Kas'kar, Junta's father, had taken the mantle from his own father as leader of clan Kas'kar. However, he was struggling to keep his clan together and true to the ways of Mandalore the Preserver. Many in clan Kas'kar grew weary of hearing the same old tale and doubted the Sith threat would ever materialise. They were wrong and soon saw how wrong they were. As the Sith Empire swept into the outer reaches of the galaxy, catching the Republic on the back foot and striking with devastating force, clan Kas'kar saw the words of Mandalore the Preserver come true before their eyes. 'Rise of the new age' As the Great War progressed, a new Mandalore rose as a champion of the fighting arenas of Geonosis. He called for the clans to unite and fight alongside the Sith Empire as allies. Zodi Kas'kar refused, and his clan stood fast, instead pledging to defy the new Mandalore if he tried to attack the Republic. This would have been seen as a major affront to Mandalorian tradition, but for one reason. Zodi knew the suspected Mandalore was not a worthy holder of the title and the Sith Empire were complicit in his rise to power. He decided the only way was to strengthen himself and his clan and stand against Mandalore. He never got his chance, however. After the failure of the blockade of the Hydian Way, the clans that united under Mandalore became despondent at his lack of leadership. To try and boost their diminished numbers and restore his leadership, the new Mandalore called a Great Hunt to recruit new members to the Mandalorian clans. It was a great success, in fact it was too successful. A leading contender from the Great Hunt eventually challenged Mandalore and killed him easily in armed combat. At this point it was revealed to the clans that he had been an Imperial puppet, he was not an arena champion, his matches had been fixed to get him status and following. His replacement, known as Mandalore the Vindicated, branded his predecessor Mandalore the Lesser and swore that the clans would unite under his new leadership or face the consequences. 'The Crusader's Skism and The Legion of the Lost' Still, this wouldn't be an easy task. The crushing defeat in the Hydian blockade had split the clans. Many now realised that Mandalore the Preserver had been right, both about the Sith invasion and their treachery and deceit. The Crusader's Skism had begun. Mandalore the Vindicated, however, was having no part in this. He firmly believed the Sith Empire were better allies and had the upper hand. He vowed to crush the clans that opposed him, and set out on a campaign to rid the galaxy of the influence of Mandalore the Preserver. The battles were fierce and bloody. Never before had the Mandalorian clans clashed with each other on such a scale. Zodi Kas'kar quickly threw his weight and the clan behind the leader of the Preserver faction, Jicoln Cadera, and became one of his key advisors and most vocal supporters. Clan Kas'kar's numbers met with the full might of Mandalore the Vindicated's Crusaders at the Battle of Vorpa'ya. It was a blood bath. Both sides took heavy losses, but among them was Zodi Kas'kar, who fell during the clan's second attack wave. Shattered and broken by the encounter, the few that remained on Vorpa'ya scattered, or joined the ranks of Mandalore the Vindicated, reluctantly seeing no other way to continue as warriors. As the Preserver clans were crushed one by one by Mandalore the Vindicated, their remaining numbers that did not align to Mandalore scattered across the galaxy. Some went into hiding, others became Bounty Hunters and Mercenaries and sought elicit work for the Republic and neutral parties. Those that served Mandalore the Vindicated often referred to their absent brothers as the 'Legion of the Lost', or simply 'The Lost'. 'Escape' Among those to escape the persecution of clan Kas'kar were one of Zodi's Lietenants, Coradi Bal'gara, and his pregnant wife, Emoni Kas'kar. Bal'gara used what resources and influence he had to get them to Nar Shaddaa, an easy place to 'disappear'. He managed to obtain lodgings for Emoni and protection from the Sith and Mandalore the Vindicated in exchange for working bounty contracts for a local Hutt crime lord, Urda the Hutt. The arrangement lasted for many years, Emoni being able to bring up Junta in peace and protected from harm. When Junta was 7 years old, however, Bal'gara was killed on a mission in the Outer Rim and failed to return on a bounty. The Hutt withdrew Emoni's protection and within 3 months she passed away from a mysterious undiagnosed illness. Junta was orphaned, and alone. Emoni's possessions were sold off and the small amount of money raised bought Junta some time in a homeless flop house. Junta started running errands for a local man who frequented the shelter looking for couriers. As he proved reliable, the man started giving him better jobs and paying for his keep. It was enough to get clothes and food and keep a roof over his head. One day he was called to deliver a small package to a much higher class apartment than he was used to. He nervously rang to door chime, expecting some noble person or wealthy crime lord to snatch the package and be done. Instead when the door slid open a tall Kel-Dor man in long brown robes stood in the doorway. The man introduced himself as Gorna Doon. The Lightsaber hilt that hung at his side revealed him as a Jedi. Gorna invited Junta into his apartment and asked him his name and if his family knew he did this job. When he learned Junta was an orphan, he became concerned for his safety. Junta was wary of the man, his mother had told him how sometimes good and bad Jedi were hard to tell apart when he was young and to always be careful near them. He began to deliver packages to Gorna's apartment regularly and got to know him a little better. Gorna was always kind and often gave him food. 'My Father' Eventually Gorna Doon offered to educate him and support him. He had delved into every source of records he could find to find out who this boy was, and realised he was a descendant of a Preserver clan. When he realised the boy's heritage he wanted to bring him up as a Mandalorian in his father's image with the hope he would join the military and fight as a warrior, eventually serving as an example that there was a place in the Republic for other Mandalorians who remained from the shattered remnants of the Preserver clans. He began to educate the boy not only in elementary studies, but also in his clan's history, his father's story and the treachery the Sith had treated the Mandalorians with over the centuries, repeatedly using them as a pawn in their wars against the Republic. As Junta grew older, Gorna began to use his own expertise as a Jedi to tutor him in sword combat, weapon handling and self defence. It was during this time Junta used his almost encyclopaedic knowledge of the back-streets, alleys and tunnels of Nar Shaddaa to help Gorna Doon smuggle a Jedi named Uthir Vern and a young boy, Shinyo Velock, off the planet undetected after Uthir had rescued Shinyo form the clutches of the Sith Empire. Gorna was recalled to the Jedi Temple and had to leave Junta but by now the boy was 14 and already very capable. Junta began taking work as a courier again, but taking on more dangerous assignments, but now his head was swimming with his father's legacy and the story of his clan. Eventually, he started taking enforcement work. At first he would just work in enforcement gangs collecting on debts and removing unwanted folk from the local area. After several skirmishes in which he had demonstrated extremely able skills at disabling thugs from other areas and holding off attackers twice his size, he was selected by Urda the Hutt as a member of his personal guard. At the age of 16 standard years he received his first bounty. He duly collected, and was rewarded for his work. His reputation as a reliable and ruthless Bounty Hunter grew rapidly until he became one of Urda the Hutt's top men. Junta learned a short time after that Gorna Doon, the only father figure he had ever had, had perished in the Sacking of Coruscant. In order to honour his legacy, that of his true father and of his clan, Junta took all the money he had and bought a small hyperspace capable ship and left Nar Shaddaa. He started taking contracts independently that worked to the advantage of the Republic. It was during such an operation that he crossed a Sith Lord named Darth Madric on Balmorra. The resulting consequence was he was pursued for two weeks across Sith Empire space and only narrowly escaped being blown out of the sky by an Imperial battleship. 'Vode, jetii' Junta's salvation was delivered when he was contacted by two Jedi who were close friends of Gorna Doon's. He recognised them as Uthir Vern and Shinyo Velock, now a young Padawan. Uthir had learned of Junta's existence from Gorna Doon and had been intrigued. The two Jedi tracked down Junta to Balmorra but he had already fled, with Darth Madric in pursuit. They realised he was in trouble and gave chase, trying to keep enough distance to prevent them being felt by Madric through the Force. As soon as the pursuit crossed into neutral space, the Jedi closed in and began to attack Madric's ship. Realising the Jedi intended to rescue Madric, he opened fire on Junta's ship, forcing him to land on a sparsely populated Jungle planet called Ruta Peranthris. A race against time ensued as Uthir and Shinyo tried to find him before Madric, chasing through sweltering heat, biting insects and forests of mile-high trees and carnivorous plants. Eventually they found Junta alive and well, but were forced to confront Madric. The pair put up a valiant fight which worked as perfect diversion. Junta, who had fled into the Jungle, circled round and landed a shot on Madric in the back. The shot would have been fatal to any mortal man, but Madric was merely incapacitated. Uthir and Shinyo took the opportunity to get all three of them back to their ship an escape. As a repayment for their efforts, Junta swore on an oath to Uthir and Shinyo that if they ever needed his services he was at their disposal. 'The Girl' Junta decided that it would probably be better for his long term interests to take on some slightly less risky work and began flying escort missions for Republic freight shipments into the disputed Neutral territories between Imperial and Republic space. Peace Treaty or no, this was a dangerous area of space for even experienced captains. Where no unforgiving Imperial patrols scoured for easy prey, privateers and mercenaries lurked ready to pounce on anything vulnerable. A contract caught his eye with a healthy pay-off to escort the freighter 'Crussus Tal' from Corellia to the swamp-ridden planet of Quesh. The deal was to support the Captain of the 'Tal and a guard onboard against boarding parties. The manifest for the cargo merely read 'lab equipment'. What would anyone want with a bunch of test tubes anyway... When Junta first walked up to the 'Tal he was slightly underwhelmed. What met him was a somewhat battered XS Light Stock freighter that looked like it had been in it's fair share of scrapes. He approached a young twi'lek woman struggling with a malfunctioning anti-grav sled and asked if she could tell him where Captain Daala was. The somewhat fierce and defiant answer that met him caught him somewhat off guard. The woman *was* Captain Daala, Vima Daala to give her full name. Although a little surprised to find a young. Pretty Twi'lek woman pedalling freight for a living, Junta was instantly impressed by her strong character and independent nature. The cargo run went to plan right until they hit the edge of Hutt space. Mercenaries, working for the Hutts lead by Bounty Hunter Liesk Bando'a, disabled the 'Tal and forcibly boarded the ship. They found the ship deserted, however, and the Nav computer and controls locked. Confused, they searched the ship, finding nothing but the crates of cargo. They returned to their own ship and left two men on guard and decided to tow the 'Tal into dock to a nearby Imperial facility. Meanwhile Vima and Junta were hidden in a secret compartment under the floor in the cargo hold. Emerging quietly while the mercenary soldiers were tooling around trying to slice the Nav computer, they easily overcame them and took the ship back. Firing on the mercenary vessel they disabled it and made their escape to Quesh with their cargo. Upon arriving they were escorted in by a wing of Republic fighters. Only when they landed and were greeted by Republic garrison Commander Dex Rentalli and Facility Administrator Algor Myrathi did Junta realise the nature of the goods they had been carrying. The supplies were critical machinery and lab equipment for refining the chemicals in the new-found wealth of the toxic world of Quesh. The damage from the attack grounded the 'Tal for a several days. The Republic graciously put the two up in somewhat sparse quarters while they got the ship back up and running. There wasn't much to do. They mostly sat around and talked. One night in the mess hall, when the night patrols had rolled out and most of the day shift had retired to their quarters, Junta got talking about some of his more dangerous exploits against the Sith and the brutality he had seen. Getting lost in his story and his fourth glass of juma juice, the story spun on for a while, until he looked round to find Vima with tears streaming down her face. When he asked what was wrong, she wiped back her tears and revealed how she had been on the Crussus Tal three years before as a slave. She had hidden under the floor, in the very spot where the pair had hidden from the mercenaries days earlier, and watched through the grates as two Sith Acolytes had murdered the rest of the crew and searched the ship looking for illegal cargo they weren't even carrying. They abandoned the ship afloat in space and it was only through Vima's efforts and the battered astromech droid that she got the ship and it's cargo to a safe port. Realising how much the memories must hurt, and being reminded of a few harsh memories of his own, Junta tried to calm Vima by telling her how brave she'd been, but she seemed unconsolable. He then told her that right from when he'd first met her he'd felt there was something about her he really liked, that he'd been impressed by her self-assured strength of character and inventiveness. Vima confessed she'd never been told that before. Most freighter captains either leered at her or insulted her for being too young or female, or both. She burst into tears again. Junta suggested perhaps the run-in with the mercs had taken it's toll on her as well as the ship and she'd be better off getting some rest. Retiring to their quarters, they fell asleep that night in each other's arms laid on the hard bunk. 'Getting the Badge' Quesh itself, however, was never a place of safety or comfort. The base came under attack by Imperial forces as they were about to leave. Vima was all for getting out and getting away from the fight but Junta wouldn't go. Vima eventually decided she wasn't going to convince him and stayed to help. He and Commander Rentalli assembled the rabble of Republic troops from the garrison and split them into two groups. The Commander's men manned the defensive walls of the compound and held the Imperial forces while Junta and Lieutenant Vima lead a small team out through a service tunnel and emerged behind the Imperial forces, wreaking havoc from cover with heavy weapons and sniper fire. They crushed the attacking force with superior tactics and half the numbers. Dex Rentalli was so impressed with Junta's ability to read the terrain that he asked him if he'd ever considered joining the Republic Army. Junta laughed it off, saying he wasn't one to stay in one place for long. The thought placed a seed in his mind, however. After returning to Coruscant with Vima and the 'Tal, the pair parted company promising to stay in touch. Alone in the hub of the Republic, Junta decided to see what work he could find. He was discouraged to find Bounty contracts a lot harder to come by than in the Outer Rim, and what was available was already jealously guarded by some particularly nasty individuals. He was about to give u and return to the border worlds when he made another disappointing discovery. His ship, which he had left in storage at a space port, had been stolen. Stranded with no work or way off Coruscant he decided to find a way out. (( As yet unfinished )) LeathamGrant 20:48, February 28, 2011 (UTC) 'A footnote - Etymology of Junta's Name in traditional Mando'a:' As Mando'a is predominantly a spoken language, names are often are written as they sound, so over time they become contracted or truncated as they are passed down the generations. This is a probable breakdown of the name: Junta: A colloquial corruption of a phrase, possibly chun'taab, literally translating to under foot. All though at first glance it sounds like and odd choice of name, it's meaning in ancient Mando'a more likely points to a good feeling under-foot i.e. firm ground or good base, indicating a sturdy or grounded personality. Kas'kar: Likely an ancient contraction of kaysh kar'ta - literally his or her heart. Likely first given to a clansman who was renowned for fighting with their heart. The word kar'ta (pronounced kar-OH-ta) is very important to the Mandalorians, the heart is the engine of a warrior. It features prominently in the traditional war chant 'Vode, An' (Brothers, All). Category:Characters